UPDATE: Blogger apologizes for gay slur, deletes anonymous account

UPDATE: Less than a week after this blog was published, the board of AgendaWise granted Daniel Greer a leave of absence for the tweets unearthed in this and other media reports.

“We have also learned there were other derogatory statements Mr. Greer made from an anonymous account not in keeping with the values of AgendaWise, and AgendaWise does not in any way endorse them,” the Board’s statement reads. “Mr. Greer has requested, and the Board has granted, a leave of absence from AgendaWise.”

A conservative blogger with close ties to an influential limited-government group in Austin used gay slurs towards another Republican strategist and lawmakers on both his personal account and an anonymous account. The anonymous account since has been deleted.

Daniel Greer, a former employee of Michael Quinn Sullivan’s group Empower Texans, with whom he still shares an office, used the slur in an overnight tirade against Justin Williamson, an Austin-based online strategist who says he served as a vendor for Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst’s campaign and Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign.

After claiming he was off to enjoy his “Thursday” (whatever the f that is) (expletive) tweeted about his lover Steve Mostyn.

Greer founded the conservative blog AgendaWise. Sullivan and other Repubican politicos sit on the board of that group, but Sullivan has said he no longer is a supervisor for Greer and that the tweet was inappropriate. He also said he has never heard Greer use that kind of language.

Greer did not return a request for comment, but has apologized, and deleted the offending tweet and another Twitter account he apparently operated that has used gay slurs toward lawmakers.

Sullivan’s group, Texans for Fiscal Responsibility, also known as Empower Texans, has been very influential in conservative politics in recent years, both campaigning for and against Republican lawmakers and becoming somewhat of a Grover Norquist of Texas politics with his group’s “Fiscal Responsibility scorecard.”

After the slur directed at Williamson, Greer ‘outed’ himself as operator of an anonymous account that has used profanity-laced attacks on lawmakers. The account has been deleted.

Greer tweeted an identical message to Williamson from an anonymous account, @RichardFiasco, and his personal account, @Daniel_Greer, Thursday, seemingly identifying himself as the operator.

“People use anonymous Twitter accounts to push an agenda, often saying things they shouldn’t,” Williamson said Friday. “These slurs and personal attacks have no place in political discourse.”

Sullivan and his organization led a charge prior to the session to oust Straus as speaker, alleging the San Antonio Republican was too moderate. Tim Dunn, an oilman from Midland who has bankrolled Empower Texans and many conservative lawmakers, also sits on the board of AgendaWise, according to a libel lawsuit filed in West Texas against the group.

Other tweets from the Fiasco account include messages that are profanity-laced, many using hateful language toward gay people.

A Facebook page belonging to “Richard Fiasco” is friends with many Republicans, including its apparent founder, Greer. In December, Houston Republican Rep. Debbie Riddle wished Fiasco a happy birthday on the page.

Greer apologized via Twitter Friday for his personal account’s tweets, but has not addressed the anonymous account.

This a.m. I apologized to the folks I addressed last night with an inappropriate word & tone. To all others offended I offer this apology.